Abstract

Technology plays an important role in educational activities in Turkey. This is largely because of the Faith Project, which was recently introduced into the country. The Fatih Project is a project of Turkish government which seeks to integrate computer technology into the country’s public education system. Education Informatics Network is one of the sub projects of the Faith Project which makes many free websites available for teachers’ use. Furthermore, Ministry of Turkish National Education has included primary schools in the project and as a result, the usage of education platforms at primary schools is available now. Considering all the mentioned points, the purpose of this study was to find out classroom teachers' opinions in employing the education platforms in teaching. The participants of this study consist of teachers working in the city of Mersin, Turkey. The data were gathered from 116 primary school teachers working in the first, second, third and fourth grades, by using a semi-structured interview with 7 open-ended questions. The data were analyzed based on a descriptive research design. Besides, a qualitative approach was employed based on the answers given in the interview. The data and their frequencies are presented in tables.  As a result of the data obtained from the study, it has been concluded that class teachers think education platforms are useful, the usage frequency of education platforms varies relative to different factors; and education platforms are used in an attempt to provide effective and permanent learning. Moreover, it was also stated in the study that teachers are not competent in using these education platform and they lack the required background knowledge. Consequently, several suggestions have been made to eliminate the mentioned inadequacies.

Key words: Education platforms, primary school teacher, technology, the Fatih Project.